


il gattino francesco

by starblessed



Category: I Medici | Medici: Masters of Florence (TV)
Genre: Brotherly Bonding, Fluff, Francesco Pazzi Is Soft Guys Really, Gen, Just Add Kittens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-11-01 04:19:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17860166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starblessed/pseuds/starblessed
Summary: The majority of parents allow children to adopt pets in their early years... so they do not grow up to adopt many, many pets, when they ought to be old enough to know better.In which a litter of kittens both make and ruin Francesco's day.





	il gattino francesco

“We’re keeping them,” his brother declared. “We’re keeping them all.”

“Guglielmo, that is absolutely out of the question.” 

Not a flicker of disappointment crossed Guglielmo’s face; probably because he would not allow himself to believe this was a battle fought and lost the second he stepped into the house. 

When Francesco, lured out by hushed exclamations from the drawing room, found his brother sitting in the middle of the floor surrounded by bundles of black-and-white fluff… well, there was really one thing he could say. _Bad idea, Guglielmo. Bad idea._

Sure, Guglielmo looked happier than he had in months, and the multitude of kittens were, objectively, adorable… but no plan to keep the brood would ever pass with their uncle.

Pets were not allowed in the Pazzi palazzo. They were not even considered. Most people were stunned the day Jacopo chose to take in his two orphaned nephews, because they were the closest the man would ever come to adopting a dog.

But not a kitten. Oh, no, never kittens.

If there was anything their uncle hated more than Medicis — and that was an _if_ as large as the Duomo itself — it was cats. Jacopo Pazzi could not stand cats.

(More accurately, he had a lifelong fear of them, stemming from a traumatic childhood incident involving an alleycat, a piece of salmon, and divine providence… but that was public knowledge to very few people, and Francesco was not supposed to be one of them.)

Now, as his brother busied himself coaxing his herd of roving kittens into a wicker basket, Francesco could only watch in dismay. Nothing about this situation promised to end well; when Jacopo returned, he would be outraged to find intruders in his home.

“They can’t be here. You have to get rid of them.”

“I’ve already given them names,” Guglielmo insisted, cuddling the stray ball of fluff to his cheek before settling it back into the basket alongside its brethren. “How can you throw them out when I’ve already named them?”

“Easy. Like this,” Francesco replied, picked up the basket, then strode over to the open window.

“Don’t you dare,” gasped Guglielmo. 

Francesco stretched his arms out over the sill.

“Do you honestly think I’ll ever forgive you?”

“I’ll forgive myself,” Francesco replied, ignoring the pitiful mewling of kittens from their wicker prison. They sensed the cool air outside, and were not happy to become acquainted with it; they would be even less thrilled to be greeted by hard pavement.

As a last-ditch effort, Guglielmo sprang to his feet — but, since there was no chance of him making it to his brother’s side in time, he pulled out the only weapon he had. “I’ve named one Francesco!”

Francesco hesitated. Against every rational instinct, he went very, very still. His arms twitched to pull back inside.

“Which one?” he asked, and regretted it immediately.

“The largest one. With the black patch over his eye, as if — as if he’s a pirate. He mewls the loudest, too.”

Francesco could not discern his namesake from the pile of identical-looking little creatures… but he couldn’t very well toss the kittens out without trying. Cursing silently to himself, he pulled the basket back into the building, and settled it on the ground again. Guglielmo’s grin was blinding.

“You have not won,” Francesco declared as he cradled his namesake close to his chest, bouncing him like a intriguingly-whiskered infant. “Stop smiling. The window is still open.”

Guglielmo succinctly shut the window.

“We are not keeping the kittens! You know exactly why!”

Up against six kittens and one determined brother — this wasn’t a fair fight. He was outmatched. Maybe, on a good day, he could resist Guglielmo’s beseeching puppy-eyes (those were strictly the weapon of younger siblings, Guglielmo had _no right_ to them). Hardening his heart against the tiny creature nibbling on his thumb, however, was a challenge even Francesco wasn’t up to facing. Perhaps he never learned how to pick his battles, but he could still tell when he was losing.

“Where did you find them?” he asked in despair, assisting an ambitious white ball of fluff as it clawed its way up his tunic. Guglielmo, looking up from the kitten cradled like an infant in his arms, grinned.

“An old washerwoman was getting ready to throw them out, and I wouldn’t have interfered, really, but —“

He cut himself off. A suspicious shadow passed over his face, as if whatever urged him to rescue the unfortunate creatures was not something he could readily admit. Which meant it was either a girl, or his own traitorous conscience.

“You know we cannot keep them.” One of the kittens was pawing quite insistently at his arm; Francesco sighed, laying down to allow it free reign over his shoulders and chest. As soon as that one made it up, several of its brothers were eager to join him. Before Francesco knew it, he was being swarmed by kittens. “Uncle shall not approve.”

His goal was not to crush his brother’s kind heart; Francesco was repeating only what they both knew. Guglielmo’s shoulders slumped. Disappointment settled over his face like a curtain, but lifted the next moment, replaced by a resolute gleam. It was that sort of bullheadedness which made him a Pazzi in the first place. “Uncle need never know,” he insisted. “They’re old enough to open their eyes, so it seems they can survive without a mother. I asked a few of the local children if their mothers would mind a new ratcatcher around the house.”

Of course his brother planned ahead. Guglielmo was no fool. Francesco lowered his head, unable to help a relieved smile.

“And little Francesco?” He’d be ashamed to admit an attachment to his namesake… but, well, only one kitten was allowed to make a nest out of his hair just to doze off comfortably. As Francesco reached up to stroke the tiny, silky face, his brother shook his head.

“I had another owner in mind for that one… someone I’m certain will take good care of him.”

Francesco rolled his eyes. Did his brother really imagine he was subtle? “Make sure this Signorina of yours isn’t allergic to cats.”

A grin spread across Guglielmo’s face. Warmth bloomed in Francesco’s chest, and he may have even grinned back…  had a sudden set of needle-sharp claws digging into his hand not caused him to yelp out loud.

**Author's Note:**

> let's just... call it a ground floor window.
> 
> This was written as a Tumblr prompt, for someone who honestly really wanted the Pazzi brothers with kittens... and I heard this plan, and was like _heck yeah._ This doesn't fit the mood of the show at all, is completely self-indulgent fluff, and I'm proud of it. My tumblr is [roseluminated](http://roseluminated.tumblr.com/), and I'm currently accepting Medici prompts! (For all ships/characters, especially genfic and character studies. Love me some good character studies.)


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